"GEAR - Predicting Antibiotic Resistances with Genetic Data" Succeeds in Competition "Landmarks in the Land of Ideas"

Vienna, Austria, June 26, 2017 -- Ares Genetics GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Curetis GmbH and a developer of pioneering solutions for the detection of genetic resistances in pathogens, today announced that the project "GEAR - Predicting Antibiotic Resistances with Genetic Data" has been awarded in the competition "Landmarks in the Land of Ideas". The project is run by the Center for Bioinformatics at Saarland University, an academic partner of Curetis and Ares Genetics. The innovation contest has been organized by the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank for the past twelve years.

The GEAR (GEnetic Antibiotic Resistance and Susceptibility) database covers an unparalleled warehouse of genetic resistance data, among others the full DNA sequences of more than 11,000 bacterial strains, which have been collected at more than 200 sites worldwide in over 30 years. In addition, GEAR provides sensitivity data of these pathogens to 21 antibiotics. Ares Genetics has exclusive access to GEAR for commercial purposes. The database was originally developed by the Working Group for Clinical Bioinformatics run by Prof. Dr. Andreas Keller at Saarland University and the Institute for Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB) at Kiel University in close collaboration with Siemens.

Ares Genetics uses GEAR as a biomarker generator for the fast identification of potential novel biomarkers, biomarker combinations and algorithms, which are able to predict antibiotic resistances. In addition, the Company leverages GEAR to identify potential novel targets for antimicrobial drugs. Further potential application areas include the generation of fully genetic antibiograms. Moreover, Ares Genetics pursues a comprehensive scientific publication strategy together with leading scientists of the Working Group for Clinical Bioinformatics at Saarland University in order to share novel findings based on GEAR with academia.

"The number of resistant bacteria is on the rise worldwide, as antibiotics are increasingly used inappropriately or unnecessarily. In addition, new antibiotics have become a scarce commodity over the past decades," said Prof. Dr. Andreas Keller, Head of the Working Group for Clinical Bioinformatics at Saarland University. "Our big data-based approach offers new chances to solve this problem: By decoding the genetic data of pathogens, we can detect and treat resistant germs much more quickly."

“We are delighted about the award for GEAR in the innovation contest ‚Landmarks in the Land of Ideas’ as it underlines the value of the database for the research and diagnosis of antibiotic resistances in pathogens," said Dr. Achim Plum, CCO of Curetis and one of Ares Genetics´ Managing Directors. "Our goal is to establish a broad and effective alliance against the further spread of antibiotic resistances."

"To achieve this goal, we offer GEAR as a collaborative research platform for academic and translational research purposes and for partners in the public health sector and the biopharmaceutical industry. We are convinced that GEAR will play a key role in fighting antibiotic resistances," added Dr. Andreas Posch, also a Managing Director of Ares Genetics.

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About Ares Genetics
Ares Genetics GmbH in Vienna, Austria, was founded in 2017 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Curetis GmbH. Ares Genetics uses the proprietary GEAR database to research the genetic fundamentals of antibiotic resistance and to develop and commercialize novel solutions to improve the fast identification of antibiotic resistance in patients with microbial infections. In addition, Ares Genetics´ objective is to provide better tools for the accelerated research of novel antibiotics. In 2016, Curetis has acquired GEAR from Siemens. The globally unique database allows the comprehensive understanding of the genetics of resistances in pathogens.

About Curetis
Founded in 2007, Curetis is a molecular diagnostics company which focuses on the development and commercialization of reliable, fast and cost-effective products for diagnosing severe infectious diseases. The diagnostic solutions of Curetis enable rapid multi-parameter pathogen and antibiotic resistance marker detection in only a few hours, a process that today can take up to days or even weeks with other techniques.

To date, Curetis has raised EUR 44.3 million in an IPO on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels and private equity funds of over EUR 63.5 million. Furthermore, Curetis has entered into a debt financing facility with EIB for up to EUR 25 million. The company is based in Holzgerlingen near Stuttgart, Germany. Curetis collaborates with Heraeus Medical, pharmaceutical companies, and has entered into several international distribution agreements covering many countries across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

For further information, please visit www.curetis.com.

Contact Details
Ares Genetics GmbH
Karl-Farkas-Gasse 18

1030 Vienna
Austria
Tel: +43 (0)1 361 8880
contact(at)ares-genetics.com

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